Letters

Best of everything

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

I’ve gotten very good at predicting politics over the years, and I can sum it up in a very few words: Expect the worst outcome.

Please note, I’m not necessarily talking about government when I say this, although government is the entity most undermined by “worst outcome” politics. News editor Dennis Myers’ story this week shows the relationship: The personality politics was smoke, anger and triumph, but the government and governance—the rubber on the road—was the same old, same old. Even with the school funding increases, we’re about even with where we were when we hit the nation’s bottom with the state’s education rankings. There’s no way we can expect to improve, and if my view is accurate, we’re going to have to fight just to stay as bad as we were.

But what about that $5,000 voucher that will allow parents to move their kiddies from one school to another? Think I’m being cynical when I say there will be parents who take the $5,000 out of Nevada’s education money and deposit it in their own pockets rather than getting their children educated? Who wants to bet?

***

Welcome to Hillary Clinton for President’s stormtroopers who moved into the offices on the floor below us. So far they seem pretty nice: Lana came up for a visit, and Adam helped us with our wi-fi. Tiffany just looks like she thinks I’m up to something. I think 405 Marsh Avenue just became Reno’s Best Place to Illustrate a Conservative Backlash.

***

And speaking of the Biggest Little Best of Northern Nevada, voting ended this morning at 7 a.m. We set it up so that the technology stops counting at 7 a.m., primarily because I think it’s funny to make all those people who waited until the last minute stay up all night trying to create burner accounts to overcome the 71,842 votes that had already been recorded as of Monday.

Good luck, everyone. I’ll bet it’s going to be another beautiful issue. —D. Brian Burghart brianb@newsreview.com

A better place

Decidedly I’m on a rant. I have been thinking of food stamps, and obesity. The two are closely linked, I believe. Why can you purchase candy, and not a hot meal? There can be no toilet paper but cake and soda. Doesn’t that seem to point in the direction of criminal? I live under the poverty limit yet I will no longer let it be a deterrent.

As of late, I have almost reversed my diabetes. Saying that, my healthcare cost is going down, my medicines are not a problem for this government. How much is spent on the problem of obesity? Yes, I do live with government assistance, although I have worked. Retail has been my bread and butter for over 20 years. That has forced me into the point of government subsidized health and food care. Not to say we are not necessary, just undervalued.

I am not a politician, just a taxpayer with government assistance to help live in less favorable conditions. I no longer take advantage of the government dole. My food choices are healthy. I take care to not imbibe of things that hurt me. I also will leave this earth better than I found it. That’s my vow, no matter what.

Big brother does exist, this I know, so why fight it? If the state requires a photo to drive, why not for food stamps? People around me sell their stamps for drugs and booze. That doesn’t seem right. If the need is there, pay for it your own self, or leave it be. The world will be a gentler place.

While I hope these are not new thoughts, your newspaper has integrity. You speak of Nevada as a progressive state. Start here.

Take that, corporations, conglomerations. Go to the lobbyists. We can keep you working.

Kathleen Harris Reno

Horrible equality

Re “Celebrate but prepare” (Editor’s note, July 2):

I’m having a hard time understanding why the president shined rainbow colors on the White House. I thought America’s colors were red, white and blue. This whole decision is the final nail in the coffin after the death of American values that the country was founded on.

Mike Arp Reno

Missed the Poles

Re “Righteous” (Arts & Culture, July 9):

There are some very remarkable omissions in this article. I do not know if this is a fault of the University of Nevada, Reno or the reportage. I worry if these serious omissions are also reflected in the students’ work. One wonders if they, or Reno News & Review, should have paid more attention to the truth.

The exhibition is supposed to be based on the Yad Vashem list of Righteous, but the nation which has the most people awarded the honor is not mentioned in the article! This is compounded by a couple of related facts. In this country, there was no collaboration or surrender to Nazi Germany—unlike other German occupied lands!—and only in this brutally occupied country was there a German-mandated death penalty for any person and their family discovered sheltering Jews. It is estimated that up to 50,000 such people were summarily executed.

The country is Poland. But, it is somehow unworthy of mention by RN&R. The only occupied country where it took true courage with fatal consequences for the person and their family if discovered sheltering Jews is not mentioned.

The omission is also seen in this sentence: “At the University of Nevada, Reno, there is an exhibit on people who could have been killed, and sometimes were, for helping to protect the victims of Nazi Germany—Jews, gays, Gypsies. That’s courage.”

So, Poles were also not considered victims of Nazi Germany? This is irrefutably and factually incorrect.

Firstly, it was not “gays” per se, It was homosexual, mainly German, men that were persecuted. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum puts the total number at 15,000. Same source regarding Gypsies (Roma/Sinti) states:

“Of slightly less than 1 million Roma believed to have been living in Europe before the war, the Germans and their Axis partners killed up to 220,000.”

Sticking with USHMM (although the generally accepted figure is 3 million, not 1.9 million, and it represents the greatest population loss of any country in the war) we have:

“It is estimated that the Germans killed at least 1.9 million non-Jewish Polish civilians during World War II. In addition, the Germans murdered at least 3 million Jewish citizens of Poland.”

The first prisoners in the German camp Auschwitz were Polish; 75,000 Poles were killed in this camp by the Germans. It is the second biggest category of victims and outnumbers all the other non-Jewish categories added together.

It is shameful that RN&R failed to mention Poles as either Righteous or as victims. These significant omissions also reflect badly on UNR. Chris Jezewski via email

License guns

Cars are so dangerous they can kill. That’s why we require licenses, not to own one, but to use one. Training for parents, relatives and friends isn’t enough. We require state-certified instructors whose jobs are on the line if they fail. You must be age 16, get training, pass a written test, pass a road test, and get re-tested every so often for life. And if you want to drive anything bigger (trucks, buses, bulldozers, etc.), that requires a higher license, again from a state-certified system. Everyone knows all this, and no one has a problem with it.

So why doesn’t all this apply to guns? Cars kill by accident, but guns kill by design! That’s why cops have to have very serious background checks, practice, testing and re-testing, all by a state-certified system, before using even the smallest gun. And they can’t use bigger ones without further training and higher licenses.

All gun-users should have to get a cop’s training and then a license first. It’s called logic! There should be small- and huge-gun licenses and everything in between. Ammunition should be limited and appropriate to the purpose at hand. If you think you need a 100-round magazine for shooting deer, you really need more practice!

Furthermore, like alcohol and tobacco, all firearms (and explosives) should be heavily taxed, but all gunsafety devices should be tax-free. And most important of all, no mentally deranged person—of any color— should either drive or shoot. J. Andrew Smith Bloomfield, New Jersey

Get the facts

Re “When Ignorance Reigns” (Editorial, Feb. 12):

Your paragraph regarding Kenya truly proves the point! Kenya outlawed GMO because Kenyans understand the long-term consequences of monoculture operations that rely on increasing amounts of chemicals of all description, simultaneously destroying soil for generations.

If you want the truth, not opinion, visit althealthworks.com and visit “A legacy of destruction.”

It should be enough to ensure you issue an editorial rebuttal.

If that’s not enough, google Union of Concerned Scientists GMO, for facts about the issue.

Now is the time to look at the proof of the last hundred years and start listening to science.

Meanwhile, enjoy your Rounduptainted GMO foods; unfortunately you probably will not be able to ascertain which they are because the pesticide manufacturers don’t want you to know. Wonder why? David MacDonald Reno

Our Mission To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages people to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live. Editor/Publisher D. Brian Burghart News Editor Dennis Myers Arts Editor Brad Bynum Special Projects Editor Georgia Fisher Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Contributors Amy Alkon, Woody Barlettani, Bob Grimm, Ashley Hennefer, Sheila Leslie, Eric Marks, Jessica Santina, Todd South, Brendan Trainor, Bruce Van Dyke, Allison Young Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Art Director Hayley Doshay Associate Art Director Brian Breneman Ad Design Manager Serene Lusano Production Coordinator Skyler Smith Design Kyle Shine Advertising Consultants Joseph “Joey” Davis, Gina Odegard, Bev Savage Senior Classified Advertising Consultant Olla Ubay Operations Coordinator Nanette Harker Kelly Miller Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Manager Anthony Clarke Distribution Drivers Tracy Breeden, Denise Cairns, Sandra Chhina, Steve Finlayson, Debbi Frenzi, Vicky Jewell, Angela Littlefield, Marty Troye, Warren Tucker, Gary White, Joseph White, Margaret Underwood General Manager/Publisher John D. Murphy President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resource Manager Tanja Poley Business Manager Grant Rosenquist Business Nicole Jackson, Kortnee Angel Sweetdeals Coordinator Courtney deShields Nuts & Bolts Ninja Christina Wukmir Lead Technology Synthesist Jonathan Schultz Senior Support Tech Joe Kakacek Developer John Bisignano System Support Specialist Kalin Jenkins 405 Marsh Ave., Third Floor Reno, NV 89509 Phone (775) 324-4440 Fax (775) 324-4572 Classified Fax (916) 498-7940 Mail Classifieds to classifieds@newsreview.com Website www.newsreview.com Printed by Sierra Nevada Media The RN&R is printed using recycled newsprint whenever available. Editorial Policies Opinions expressed in the RN&R are those of the authors and not of Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact the editor for permission to reprint articles, cartoons or other portions of the paper. The RN&R is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. All letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form.